Islamabad: Federal Minister for Food and Agriculture, Nazar M. Gondal has said that desert locust was a deadly pest that can cause significant damage to crops and its recent attack in Ghotki, Rahimyar Khan and Bahawal Pur has successfully been defeated by the untiring efforts of the Plant Protection Department assisted by South West Asia Commission (SWAC) of the FAO. The minister said this while addressing the conclusion of the 27th Session of FAO for Controlling the Desert Locust in South West Asia (SWAC) hosted by Department of Plant Protection, Ministry of Food & Agriculture here.
SWAC was established in 1964 and has four member countries i.e.
India, Pakistan, Iran & Afghanistan.
The commission meets every two years on a rotational basis in one of the member countries to devise and discuss strategies to control desert locust among the four member countries of South West Asia (SWAC).
Desert locust is one of the deadliest pests causing significant damage to agricultural crops.
Medium size swarms entered Pakistan from across the eastern border in September 2010, which settled and bred in Ghotki, Rahimyar Khan and Bahawal Pur desert areas.
The vigilant locust control teams of the Department of Plant Protection successfully controlled the swarm and saved the crops from ravages of the pest.
This entrance and local breeding of the deadliest insect could have been another calamity ready to hit our agriculture already affected by the unprecedented floods in 2010.
“We are grateful to FAO for helping us to combat this menace in an effective way. We are also indebted to the delegates for coming all the way to attend this session and make it a success. The government is committed to assist the farming sector in all the possible ways as it is the backbone of our economy”, added the minister.
The conference discussed the joint border surveys of the spring breeding areas in Southeast Iran and Western Pakistan, regularly held since 1995 and monthly border meeting held between the Locust officers of India and Pakistan from June to October on monthly basis.
The desert locust situation from 2008 – 2010 and forecast to spring, 2011 was discussed at length.
The Conference also identified the activities for desert locust control for 2011-2012. Strengthening national capacities in survey, reporting, early warning, planning, training and control of desert locust were identified to be the key areas for enhanced focus.
Minister for Food & Agriculture appreciated the commission’s activities for enhancing coordination in the region in fighting locust to ensure food security.
He extended facilitation and appreciation to FAO Representative in Pakistan and FAO Rome-Italy for their cooperation and provision of material assistance in form of technical expertise and others.
The session was attended by Dr. Tasneem Ahmad (Pakistan), Mehdi Ghaemian (Iran) Dr. S.P. Gupta (India) Abdul Ghaffar Ahmadi (Afghanistan) Keith Cressman (FAO – Rome) Dr. Munir Butrous (FAO – Cairo), M. Akbar Zardari and M. Azam Khan, etc.
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